There’s beauty in the double-blind opt-in. That’s the way you match with someone on Tinder. You like them, they like you, you both find out and get connected. But to date the feature’s largely been trapped in dating apps that match you with randos or that not everyone wants to be on. That means this anti-loneliness technology is leaving some people out.

Facebook, meanwhile, is on a newfound quest to stimulate “meaningful interactions” not just passive content consumption. Its latest attempt is a ham-handed Meetups feature. It surfaces big groups of friends saying some might want to hang out with you, and asking you if you’re interested. If you both say yes, it connects you over Messenger.

Idea - Meetups - Execution - Mess - Meetups

The idea behind Meetups is smart but the execution is a mess. Since Meetups ambiguously shows multiple people at once, sends aggressive notifications to participate, and encompasses all kinds of relationships, the results are meaningless. You don’t know if someone “chose you” because they actually like you, want to chill platonically, actually were approving of another friend shown at the same time, or were just mindlessly clicking through after getting an alert to try the confusing feature.

For years I’ve been writing about how Facebook and Messenger should build an offline availability indicator for finding out who’s free to spend time together with in person. Messenger’s new test of “Your Emoji” where you can put a beer mug, or dinner plate, or briefcase on your profile pic for 24 hours to indicate what you’re up to or interested in doing, is a much better approach.

Source - Interactions - Facebook - Matchmaker - Mission

But it’s not designed for dating. And let’s be real. Finding a significant other is the source of some of the most meaningful interactions you’ll ever have. If Facebook can be the matchmaker, it will both accomplish its mission while earning tremendous...